In new findings released today by Harnham – the global Data & Analytics recruitment specialist, regional salary differences between London and outside of London for the Data & Analytics sector have closed by up to 75% in the past year alone, signalling a huge shift for the industry – and the wider business landscape – in this remote working era.

In its 11th annual Salary Guide which surveyed over 9,000 respondents, Harnham found that certain divisions of the Data & Analytics market have seen employers paying out astronomically high salaries in the past year to both entice and retain talent out of and away from London companies.

With most employees now working remotely, spending only 1.5 days in the office – as found in this year’s guide – they have the freedom and capability to work for anyone from anywhere, with a draw to working for high-paying firms in London despite living miles away from the capital. This has forced other regional companies to bolster their salaries in a hope to retain local talent. Indeed, for the first time in four years, a lack of competitive salary is the key motivator for people to leave a role.

As a result, this year’s Salary Guide found a significant closure between London weightings and the rest of the UK’s weightings. Specifically in areas like Risk Analytics and Digital Analytics where the gap closed by 65% and 73% at entry level, respectively.

In certain cases, we can see London salaries being matched or even bettered by companies outside of London. In Risk Analytics, for example, mid-level Decision Systems experts can expect to earn the same (£55,000) either in London or outside of London. Within Marketing and Insight, entry-level Pricing Analytics candidates can expect to out-earn their London counterparts by £4,000.

These salary closures do not mean that London is not increasing its salary benchmarks because it is, and significantly. For example, a Campaign and CRM Analyst can expect 18.1% more in salary this year compared to last. The key point however is that companies outside of London are putting up a fight and meeting London’s match when it comes to salaries in order to remain competitive in a fierce market.

Commenting on these findings David Farmer, CEO of Harnham, said: “It’s certainly been a turbulent time for the recruitment market over the past two years, and things are changing once again. As companies get into the swing of cementing working strategies and procedures, they are now confronted with the uphill battle of the looming Great Resignation and an insatiable salary war.

“While some divisions of Data & Analytics remain to be more lucrative for those in London, it is likely that we will see the gap between London and non-London salaries closing over the coming years as employers battle with talent shortages, employee retention and candidate’s salary expectations.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if in next year’s guide we see the gap closing even further, and perhaps evening out. I also think this is a trend that we will see not only for Data & Analytics but for numerous other sectors, too. It’s certainly a case of watching this space.”